Improvement in potato-diggers



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATHANIEL RUGG, OF RICHMOND, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN POTATO-DIGGERS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 170,452, dated November 30, 1875; application led August 4, 1875.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, NATHANIEL RUGG, of Richmond, county of Macomb and State of Michigan, have invented an Improved Potato- Digger.

The following description, taken in connecf tion with the accompanying plate of drawings, hereinafter referred to, forms a full and exact specification, wherein are set forth the nature and principles of the invention, by which the same maybe distinguished from others of a similar class, together with such parts thereof as are claimed as new, arid are desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States.

My invention relates to that class of agricultural implements whichare made use of for digging potatoes; and the nature thereof consists in certain improvements in the details of the construction of the same, and novel combinations of parts hereinafter described. v

In the accompanying plate of drawings, in which corresponding parts are designated by similar letters, Figure l is a plan view. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section. Fig. 3 is a front elevation.

The main driving-wheels B rotate upon the shaft A, which is rigidly attached to the frame of the machine, and engage with the gears O by means of the clutch-couplings b. The ha1f` clutch boxes upon the gears C are made to engage with the half-clutch boxes on the wheels B by the spring D, whichl forces the said gears outward, and are disengaged by means of the lever E, pivoted to the frame, which operates the arms F, pivoted to the horizontal lever e, and provided with forked ends, which rest in the grooves d, cut upon the hubs of said gears. The gears G engage with thepinions H upon the transverse shaft h, upon which are the sprocket or rag wheels I, which, through the medium of the chain-bands J and rag-wheels K and K' upon the shaft L, impart motion to the endless chain-bands l. The said bands lare rove over pulleys upon the shaft M, and engage with a series of sprocket-wheels, m, upon a series of shafts, m1. yThe said shafts L,'M, and m1 have their bearings in the lower frame N, which is pivoted to the upper frame by means of transverse bars a, in such a manner as to allow free play to the bands J. O designates the diggerframe, which is pivoted to the lower frame N by the shaft M, and is provided with a series of teeth, o', and a chain, P, by

means'of which it may be suspended from a hook in the forward part `of the frame. The said digger-frame may be raised with facility by rotating the shaft P', upon which are pin-- ions p, which engage with racks R, attached to the front side of said digger-frame.

The potatoes are forced over the rollers m1 and stationary transverse rods .m2 by the transverse bars s, attached to the chain-bands Z.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesl. In a potato-digger, the combination of the driving-wheels B, provided with half-clutch boxes, the gears G, provided with half-clutch boxes, the spring D, the lever E, the arms F, the horizontal lever e, andthe pinions H upon sprocket-wheels m, and transverse rods m2, as

and for the purposes described.

In testimonythat I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 30th day of March, 1875.

NATHANIEL Ecce.

` Witnesses:

O. S. BUEGEss, JAMES M. ElcKs. 

